


The Old World's Future

by makot0naegi



Series: Danganronpa 21 [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Crush, Because of the adults, Children of Characters, Crime Fighting, Crying, Daddy Issues, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Detective Noir, Developing Friendships, Dissociation, Fainting, Family Drama, Fanchildren, Filler with Purpose, Fist Fights, Flashbacks, Friendship, Future Fic, Future Foundation (Dangan Ronpa), Gun Violence, Healthy Relationships, High School, Hope's Peak Academy, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda anyway, Kirigiri is the best wife ever, LGBT characters, Long-Term Relationship(s), Lots of “The Survivors are old now” jokes, Motorcycles, Multiple Suspects, Mystery, Original Character(s), Other, Post-Canon, Post-Dangan Ronpa 3: Hope Arc, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Light Novels, Remnants of Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Secret Correspondence, Secret Organizations, Self-Esteem Issues, Sexual Humor, Shipping, Slow Build, Some Slice of Life Elements, Swearing, Teen Angst, Teenage Dorks, Work In Progress, questionable parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-05-30 01:46:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15086357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makot0naegi/pseuds/makot0naegi
Summary: Another year has come and gone, and it is finally spring time in Tokyo again. Even April’s showers pouring down upon them could not quell the excitement of the incoming students to the modern day Hope’s Peak Academy. After washing away its sins of the past, Hope’s Peak has become a respectable school run by alumni of the academy. Among these alumni are Makoto Naegi and Kyoko Kirigiri, who watch proudly over their students and wish to assist them in achieving their goals and striving towards a hopeful future. This upcoming year; however, presents a challenge with not only the attendance of their son to the school but the presence of Natsumi Kuzuryuu and Phoenix Nevermind, the children of the former Remnants of Despair as well. Though the process has occurred before, there is something much different about it this time… The past has begun creeping up on the academy, and if not handled correctly it could threaten to expose something much larger than anyone had ever bargained for. The only choice is to meet it as it comes forward, even if you’re a little young. A tale of forgiveness, love, and family that celebrates the connections made between people and the belief that no matter what, one can always strive to be better.





	1. Meet the Naegi-Kirigiris

Chapter 1: Meet the Naegi-Kirigiris

TRACK: DRtA OST 1-16: Buzzkill (The Animation)

My mother had heard the Reaper's footsteps too late this time.

She was halfway through calling out my father's name when the sound of a gunshot exploded through the school's auditorium.

It seemed almost the instant that the sound went off, he crumpled to the floor like a doll.

Students screamed and cried out, ducking for safety and others ordering for someone to call an ambulance. None of them moved to help, they all just stood there and panicked. All that anyone could seem to do was think about themselves, despite the fact that the wound had been inflicted upon someone else. At least, that was what it looked like, judging by all of the people standing and crying. The population willing to help was scarce, and it seemed like everyone else was just looking for an exit. If it weren't for my family, nobody would even be making an effort at all.

“They shot him.” Natsumi's terrified voice filled my ears as I felt her latch on to my arm. The sound of it was so uncharacteristic that for a moment I believed that I must have been dreaming. “Oh my god Koichi, they actually shot him!”

I couldn't move. My whole body was trembling as the reality of the situation began to set in. I could feel tears blur my vision and threaten to spill down my cheeks as I stared forward at the collapsed body of my father on the stage. I felt almost as if I was going to be sick, right then and there. I had not even the strength to scream or cry out like everyone else. All I could do was stand there and watch as my mother sprinted to my father screaming out his name in desperation, tears making their way down even her face.

“Makoto!” Her voice was shaking so badly as she tried to get him to react. She kept jostling his arm in hopes of getting a response. “Makoto! Makoto! Please, Makoto!” I couldn't stop myself from clenching my fists as I listened to her beg for him to force his eyes open. The pain they both must have felt in that moment... I couldn't possibly imagine it.

This was the first time anyone aside from my father had seen my mother cry so openly. Her sobbing was hysterical as she ripped her gloves off her hands and pressed two fingers to Dad's neck. She was looking for a pulse. After all, if he wasn't able to show any signs of life himself, she would need to see if there was still something.

“There's a pulse, faint, but it's there! His heart's still beating!” She announced through her sobs, taking this opportunity to move his head so he could breathe better. It was all she could really do for him as she continued to plead. “Come on, Makoto, stay with me... Don't worry, baby, I'm right here..."

From what I could see, this did not really provide him with much comfort at all. In fact, I wasn't sure that he even had any idea why he was lying on the ground anyway. He seemed to only stare up at her with half-lidded eyes, confusion and concern present on his face. For a moment I saw him move his hand up as if to touch his forehead, but my mother quickly swatted it away and told him to just leave it alone. By then I was sure he could probably feel the blood trickling down his face.

"S-Somebody, call for help!" My sister cried from just behind my mother, glancing around the auditorium. "Hurry, we don't have much time!"

“The ambulance is on their way, everyone just stay calm!” It was my honorary uncle, Byakuya, who spoke next. He was clutching his cell phone so tightly in his hand that his knuckles had turned white. The students looked skeptical, worried that the attacker might come back for them, but I knew that wouldn't be an issue.

There was only one person it could have been, and I saw them rush out of the auditorium moments after the wound was inflicted.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TRACK: SDR2 OST -1-05- Beautiful Days [Summer Salt]

It seems whenever I meet people who recognize my last names, they always ask me the same question.

“So what's it like being the son of Makoto Naegi and Kyoko Kirigiri?”

I mean, they're always expecting me to dish out something about how magical it is being the son of two heroes, but it's not really like that at all.

I mean, sure, my parents are probably cool. I just have no idea because I can't see them anything else other than Mom and Dad- the people who brought me in to this world and the people who put up with all of my crap for fourteen years. To me, they're always going to be Mom and Dad. But to everybody else, they're TV stars, legends, or heroes. They're the apple of the public's eye, Japan's most beloved couple, yadda yadda yadda, dumb talk show stuff. They expect to everything and anything about my parents to be glamorous and awesome, and by extension this means most people expect my life to be glamorous and awesome.

I won't lie to you- I am pretty fortunate. I've had a really great life. I've got a roof over my head, food on the table, and a family who loves me dearly. Anything one could really ask for has pretty much been mine throughout my fourteen years of life. But that doesn't necessarily mean that everything about me and my family is the most glorious thing of all. When it comes down to it, my family is not as exciting as those tabloids make us seem. In fact, we're your typical Japanese family... well, as typical as you can get these days, anyway.

Which leads me in to the truth of being their son, and conveniently, the story I'm trying to tell.

I'd say that one of the best things about being Makoto Naegi and Kyoko Kirigiri's son is waking up to find out that your mother is standing over your bed, watching you sleep.

If you haven't guessed by now, when I said best, I meant terrifying. Of course, Mom doesn't see it that way, but what can you really do?

“Gaaaaaah!” was the closest estimate I'm going to make to what my shriek must have sounded like when I opened my eyes to see my mother looming over the side of my bed. I'm sure on the inside my scream must have scared her half to death, but thanks to the iron mask she'd learned through detective work, she appeared mostly unruffled.

“Oh, s-sorry, Koichi.” Her voice was soft as she spoke to me, her iron mask fading away as she offered me a gentle smile. “I didn't mean to scare you.”

“What were you doing?!” I asked, looking up at her like she was crazy. Aside from her, can you think of any person who deems it normal to watch other people sleep? It's just downright creepy!

“I came up to tell you that dinner's ready, but when I got upstairs I noticed you were asleep. I was somewhat torn between waking you up and allowing you to continue to rest. You looked so peaceful, and very much like your father.” She answered meekly, tapping her fingers together in a manner that reminded me of my honorary aunt Toko. "You were so cute, I didn't have the heart to wake you."

“I struggle to think of a time where I do not look like Dad,” I replied flatly. Between me and my two sisters, I was the one who looked most like him. We had the same olive green eyes, same light brown hair, same tanned complexion, nearly the same height, and the same button nose and soft cheeks that made us look younger than we were. Pretty much like my parents had tried to clone my dad and it had come out almost perfect. It wasn't uncommon for people to comment on how much we looked alike- especially Mom. You can imagine her joy when I popped out looking just like Dad.

“I suppose that's true. You two make all of the same faces, after all." She laughed softly, offering me her hand so I could more easily climb out of my bed. Judging by the book laying on my chest, I must have fallen asleep while reading again. "Speaking of which, be sure to thank Hope when you get downstairs because I almost had to make dinner tonight. You and your father would be making the same disgusted faces all night if she hadn't.”

As I accepted my mother's assistance, I couldn't help but smile slightly sheepishly. Don't get me wrong, I love Mom to the moon and back, but her cooking is awful. At our house, it fell on Dad to do most of the cooking and baking. Not that he minded, much, but days where Dad had meetings were a nightmare if Hope didn't step in. Mom was... infamous for giving people food poisoning with her cooking. So usually it was best if she just left everything up to Dad and my older sister.

Thankfully, today she'd taken it upon herself to cook for the family as Dad had a meeting to attend. I still think it's kind of silly that they have to have a meeting when school hasn't even started yet, but what do I know? At the very least, the spring meeting meant that Hope would be able to cook. During the school year she tended to get caught up with the Student Council or the cheerleading team, so if she wasn't available for dinner and neither was Dad, we either ordered in or it fell on me to make dinner. Those are the problems with having an overachiever for a sister, I guess. 

“That's... probably true. Although I don't imagine it will taste very good when it's cold. We should get headed downstairs.” I replied, laughing slightly. My mother simply smiled back at me before leading me downstairs to greet my sisters who were putting out the plates and utensils so we could begin.

“Ichi, did you fall asleep again?” I heard my youngest sister call to me from the dinner table, trying to hide the fact that she was giggling. "It's not good to take so many naps, you won't be able to sleep at night!"

I couldn’t help but smile at her. As I mentioned before, Seiko is my youngest sister. She is a whopping six years younger than me, standing at eight years old. She's straight up half my other sister's age! To answer your question, no, my parents did not plan to have her. But it's a darn good thing they did because she is the cutest kid. Even when she was scolding you, you couldn't resist those big violet eyes and chubby cheeks.

“Yeah, I fell asleep again.” I laughed as Mom and I wandered in to the room, knowing it would humour her. “I guess I need to improve my sleeping schedule.”

“It probably would have been best to start improving it a week ago, Koichi.” Mom scolded me, shaking her head as she placed her hands on her hips. “We'd prefer it if you did not fall asleep during your first day at Hope’s Peak.”

“Yeah, you certainly wouldn’t want to end up in the Headmaster’s office,” Hope teased, knowing full well what being sent to the Headmaster’s office would mean for me. At most, a lecture, but still never particularly pleasant. I’d honestly rather be in class, if I were to be perfectly honest. After all, I had worked my butt off just to get in to that school. That’s what happens when you discover you have to take the entrance exams last minute.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bitter with my parents because I didn’t get in. It wasn’t their fault that it happened. In fact they were trying pretty hard to help me, but in the end it was the other staff members that pushed for the other student to be admitted. I had to study for weeks just to pass the entrance exams, and now that I’d gotten my chance I knew I couldn’t let it slip away. So perhaps landing myself in my father's office on the first day was not exactly my greatest ambition during this new school life of mine.

"Okay, okay, let's just sit down and eat. Seiko looks like she's starving." I prodded softly, pulling out a chair for my mother to sit down in before promptly taking my own seat. (My mother raised a gentleman.) Putting our hands together, we all closed our eyes and began the before-meal ritual that all Japanese families do. Why? What can I say, we're pretty normal. Nothing awesome or glamorous about normal people, is what they used to say.

"Itadakimasu!"

We began our meal quite happily, my mother passing around food dishes to my sisters and I to make sure we could all get our fill first before she got her own. Dinner that night was salmon alongside white rice, with a topping of seaweed and sautéed vegetables. For beverages we went with cold barley tea considering it fit so perfectly with the warm spring we were having. Just sitting in front of the food had made me understand why my youngest sister had looked so hungry while my mother and older sister were teasing me. The whole thing smelled and looked delicious, and considering we were already eating dinner late, it was hard to hold off from wanting a taste. Simple or not, the meal looked *so good*.

"Do you want me to make a plate for Dad?" Hope inquired as she helped Seiko scoop some rice on to her plate. Seiko was definitely old enough to do that sort of thing on her own, but she's the baby of the family so she usually gets extra help no matter what she's capable of.

"No thank you, you just sit down and enjoy your food. I have no idea when your father will be home, and when he does get home, I can make a plate for him. You have done quite enough, Hope. Thank you." Mom responded with a smile, knowing that any minute now Dad would likely be home. It wasn't like him to carry meetings through dinner- in all honesty he hated carrying meetings any longer than they had to go, but with the first day of school just around the corner, he might have had to stay longer.

"So, Koichi, you excited about tomorrow or what?" Hope asked me cheerfully, her eyes sparkling with delight as she scooped some rice on to her own plate this time. "It'll be your first day, after all. It's a pretty big deal!"

"Uh... I dunno, I guess I am. I mean, I know Hope's Peak like the back of my hand, really..." was all I felt I could offer my sister as she passed the rice off to me, "Part of me feels like it won't be too daunting. Maybe back in the day, when the school consisted solely of ultimates, but... Now it's a little bit different."

"I'm glad to hear you're at ease, Koichi," Mom told me softly, the same pleased expression reigning on her face. "I wouldn't want you to worry too much about it. Everyone at Hope's Peak will take good care of you, obviously including your father, your sister, and myself."

"I'm so jealous that you get to go to Hope's Peak now! I wish I was going," Seiko commented, putting on a totally fake pout. "But instead I have to go to my stupid school, where they keep telling me that being a detective is no hobby for a young lady..."

"Don't you listen to them, Seiko. I used to get told just the same thing when I was a girl, and now look at me. We've got a Super High School Level Detective title ready for you, so I wouldn't advise giving up!"

Seiko's pout transitioned in to a smile as she looked up on Mom. It was comforting to see the way my mother supported my sister and pushed her along, the same way she did with Hope and I. I could still distinctly remember studying for the entrance exams with her, pushing me to just do a little bit more as she was sure that I would be able to do it. It's interesting, I think, how much a mother's love can make you feel as if you can do anything. I'm grateful to have always had that in my life. Sometimes I think it's because my mother didn't really get to have that in her life that brings her to try so hard to take care of us. After all, she hadn't been intending to have three kids but she met my father and suddenly things were different. She used to tell us how she never saw herself getting married or being a mother, not until she met him. When she would say that, I used to wonder if that was how it could be with other things, too. You could never see yourself as one thing until the right people came along.

It wasn't that I thought that perhaps each human needs another person to complete them, but perhaps everybody needs somebody to love and support them, whether it be romantically or platonicly. As humans we all need somebody to push us to be our best, and for Mom that person was Dad. Dad would tell you that for him, that person was Mom. The two of them were yin and yang almost, starting off as best friends and blossoming in to lovers. I couldn't help but wonder if maybe someday I'd find somebody like that.

I guess that was part of the appeal of Hope's Peak. Just the idea of someday finding people, my people, who would care for me and encourage me to do my best. People beyond the confines of my bloodline and my not-technically-family, people who chose to be with me. My number one goal in going to Hope's Peak was finding those people. If it had happened to my parents when they were young, why not to me?

For my sisters and I, Hope's Peak was always a symbol of promise and hope for the future. That's why I felt relatively at ease, because I knew that no matter what happened, there would always be hope. That was pretty much an age old lesson in my house, and one that-

"Koichi? Are you alright?"

Oh, gosh. I got so absorbed in my thoughts I had clearly missed an integral part of the conversation that we had been having. I tried not to look like I had totally just spaced out, but by that point it was relatively obvious.

"H-huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm good." I responded awkwardly, glancing over at my mother who was staring at me with a raised eyebrow. Was I making a weird face while I was zoned out, or something?

"Are you certain? Your father just tried to greet you and you didn't say a word."

"What?" I asked, turning towards the doorway to the kitchen. What Mom said was in fact true, Dad had since returned home from work and I was too zoned out to even notice that he'd come through the door. Let alone realize he had been speaking to me, jeez! "Oh, hi Dad..." I greeted him awkwardly, feeling my cheeks flush softly.

"Hi Koichi. Got a lot on the mind today?" He snickered softly, still forgiving as ever.

"You don't know the half of it... Big day tomorrow, as you know."

"I think you'll find I understand a little more than you think I do. But yep, it'll definitely be a big day. Exciting for sure, unlike that last meeting, ugh." He sighed, pushing a hand through his light brown hair. I could tell just by the look on his face that it really was that boring as his expression resembled that of the one he has when he's just waking up. I could only pray that he hadn't fallen asleep during that last meeting, considering it had been with the school board. They'd already almost removed him from the position of headmaster once, so sleeping in a meeting would definitely screw with their perception of his professionalism.

"Not a good one?" My mother inquired, tilting her head to signal that he should come sit down and eat.

"I think that was the worst one yet. I very nearly fell asleep, as you weren't there to pinch me every time I started to nod off..." He admitted with a laugh, moving to kiss the side of Hope's head and thank her for making dinner.

She merely murmured her answer as Dad went around and kissed Seiko's head, then mine, and then of course Mom's. The second he did that, she was cracking a smile again. Probably the biggest one I'd seen from her all day.

"Well, I'm certainly glad I wasn't there, then."

"Yeah, you probably should be. But at least we're all here together now, and we have some delicious food to eat prepared lovingly by a beautiful young woman whom we all love." Dad teased, making Hope giggle softly as he took his seat across from Mom. "And, of course, we can make a toast with our tea to Koichi's big day tomorrow."

"Agreed," Mom added, raising her teacup to prepare to clink it against ours. We all began to mimic her, going around the table and clinking our glasses together before taking a sip of the tea.

"To Koichi's big day!" Dad announced proudly, a phrase that we all repeated after him as he raised his cup in the air triumphantly.

To me, my parents are still my parents. They probably will never be "cool" in my eyes, but I don't think that being cool is all that's important when it comes to them. If there was ever really a way to say that my parents are cool, it would be to say that they're cool because they're loving. They're cool because they're supportive. They're cool because I know they've always got my back if I need them. Sure, the whole fighting against despair thing is pretty cool in itself, but it's that kind of love I feel that best defines being their son.


	2. Too Many Windows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's officially the first day of high school for Koichi and he is genuinely terrified, but he's been trying to put on a brave face all morning for the sake of his parents. He knows that they don't want him to be worried, but if he is to be honest he is incredibly worried. Life's tough when you're a Reserve Class Student whose parents are the headmaster and vice principal, but soon enough Koichi will find out his high school life has much more in store for him than simple teasing about mommy and daddy having helped him get in to the school.

Chapter 2: Too Many Windows

TRACK: DRTHH OST: -1-04- Beautiful Days

I think it would be fair to say that I pretty much grew up at Hope's Peak Academy. Ever since I was a child, it had been like my second home. I grew up running through the building's halls after and even during school, darting from classroom to classroom, meeting every student and staff member who was willing to stop and say hello to me. I can still vividly remember playing hide and seek with my mother in the school's garden, and pulling my father away from his paperwork just so he could come play with me. 

Those things... they're really just a few of the good memories I have of Hope's Peak. Hope's Peak Academy was and always has been my second home. I felt safe there, protected there, happy there... It was just somewhere that was really special to me. Dare I say it, it was even a place that shaped me as a person... which I get sounds pretty weird, but you know what I mean. It was sentimental to me. 

But now, standing in front of it and looking up at it, standing so tall and proud and... brown, I couldn't help but feel daunted by it. It probably didn't help that the whole place was like composed of windows, so it felt like every one standing on the inside could look out and just see me whenever they wanted. There wasn't even anyone in the school yet aside from the staff, and I was already feeling like everybody was looking at me! You'd think this was something I would be used to, given my family's status and all, but that's where you'd be wrong. Thank god that for most of my childhood, my parents tried to keep me and my sisters out of the public eye as much as possible. They didn't want us getting grief from anybody simply because of who our parents were. Unfortunately, however, that protection was to come to an end for me that very morning. Why, you ask? Well, rather than entering the school under my own ultimate title, I was entering as a Reserve Class Student. 

Now, don't get me wrong— in this day and age, there was nothing wrong with being a Reserve Class student at Hope's Peak. When my parents were in school, the Reserve Class and the Ultimate Class were completely segregated to the point where they were in two separate buildings. The Reserve Class (or as they were called then, the Reserve *Course*) students practically had nothing to their status except for the name Hope's Peak. They were mistreated and looked down upon, and nobody dared to even acknowledge them if they didn't have to. Mom once told me that there was even a case of a Reserve Course student being used as a lab rat for a terrifying project, just a bit before the Tragedy began. Fun fact, the Tragedy began as a result of "the Parade". "The Parade" was essentially a outbreak of protesting-turned-riot at Hope's Peak performed by the Reserve Course students. It got so bad that when they overpowered security, the Reserve Course students slaughtered the Main Course students left and right. Yeah, if you've ever taken a high school history class, you can imagine the carnage of it all.

But getting back to my point at hand, the Reserve Class at my father's Hope's Peak was nothing like the Reserve Course at my Grandpa Jin's Hope's Peak. Since the re-establishment of the school, the survivors who decided to restore it chose for it to still focus on talent, but accept students of all calibers. This meant that the two classes could mix and mingle together, and nobody would have more status than the others. The only difference between the two was that the Talent Class students were scouted and selected, whereas we Reserve Class students took an entrance exam to obtain a spot at the school. It was a pretty simple system, and they've always taken it pretty seriously to the point of changing the school's original goals based around it. In the past, the school's idea was always to study talent and how it grows and all of that. However, the survivors decided to toss all that out the window and focus on nurturing talent in all forms—ultimate or not. It really did create the fair opportunity for everybody to study at Hope's Peak, so all in all I shouldn't have been complaining. The only issue I had with it at the time? 

I wasn't supposed to be in the Reserve Class at all. 

I do have an ultimate talent. I've been training in it since I could stand without holding my mother's hands. I trained hard and practiced for hours on end, and did everything I could to qualify for the role. It was something I had dreamed about doing ever since I was a little kid, and I could already picture in my head how great it would be, but... Things change, I guess. Without disclosing too much, let's just say there was a disagreement among staff as to my presence as an ultimate and there was nothing anybody could do to change it. So instead I was forced to take the entrance exam to obtain my spot (which I nearly failed, by the way). This meant that I was going to be known at Hope's Peak not by an ultimate title, but as the headmaster and vice principal's son. Yeah, not as much of a tragic anime back story as I make it sound, but still incredibly awkward because everyone would think I got in because my mommy and daddy do everything for me.

I mean, as I said before, I don't dislike being their son. I'm really proud of it, honestly. I just... wanted to start at Hope's Peak with my own identity, like my older sister did. Just knowing that everybody could see right through me due to the obvious resemblance between Dad and myself made me feel even more anxious. Probably more anxious than I should have been.

"Koichi, are you alright?" Mom asked in her mom voice, her gloved hand touching my shoulder as she spoke to me. She must have noticed the frown I was wearing as my eyes scrutinized the school building and predicted my thoughts. She was always a little too good at that. "First day nerves?"

I couldn't think of anything to say, so I nodded. I nodded and left it at that, thinking that she even if she could assume my feelings, she could never understand how it all truly felt. After all, she had first entered this building as the Super High School Level Detective with no connections to anybody— not even her own father. It was going to be a different story for me.

"It kind of feels like you're a tame little housecat who wandered in to a pride full of lions, right?" Dad offered, glancing over at me with a slight smile on his face. I couldn't help but turn my head to look at him for a moment, surprised at how easily he had managed to hit the nail on the head. "That was how I felt on my first day, too." He murmured as he fumbled with his keys to unlock the gate to the front of the school. For a moment he let out a slight laugh, but I couldn't tell what for. There were two possibilities I had in mind: One, we both had the same feelings about our first day. Two, despite everyone being inside, the gates were locked. The most likely choice I decided was the latter, as Yasuhiro always seemed to be locking the gate on Dad if he was the first to arrive.

"But just because that's how it feels today doesn't mean that that's how it's always going to feel," Mom continued to try and reassure me. "Your father felt like that on his first day and then fell in love with it, and I'm sure you will too. This is a fresh start for you, Koichi, and a chance to show the world all of the light you bring in to it."

Merely hearing that made my face flush against my will. It was high compliment, and I did appreciate it. However, I always found it difficult to differentiate between the genuine compliments my parents paid me and the things they would say because I'm their son and they love me. That was part of what made it feel like less a truthful comment or more like my mom trying to protect her baby's oh-so-fragile ego— something she'd gotten pretty good at, considering Dad and I both had the self-esteem of a table lamp. 

"Oh don't get all pink like that," Hope teased me, reaching around to hug me from behind and placing her chin on the top of my head. She was a whole lot taller than I was, so she took great pride in being able to do that to me. It was usually annoying, but right then I was willing to tolerate it. "It's true, what Mom said. Hope's Peak will be the making of you, as they say! It's the land of opportunity, right Daddy?" She turned her head to look at Dad, who had now succeeded in opening up the gate for us.

"Definitely." He laughed, clearly endeared by my sister. "We didn't decide to keep the name Hope's Peak for nothing, after all!"

"Pfft, yeah, you can say that— you run the place." I fake-scoffed, a smirk present on my face. To further illustrate how smug I was purposefully being in an attempt to antagonize my father, I folded my arms across my chest. "Of course you'd think it's great."

"I don't think it's great— I know it's great." He fired right back, a devilish twinkle in his eye. Though my eyes were focused on Dad, I could practically feel Mom rolling her eyes from beside me. This back and forth was pretty common between the two of us, but she seemed as if she never could understand it.

"Alright boys, that's quite enough. We should head inside, for currently we risk being late." She sighed, glancing down at the silver watch that was fastened on to her wrist. Without waiting for the rest of us to respond, she then began to strut forward as if she was expecting us to follow behind her like a pack of puppies. I can't really say that we usurped her expectations because, well, that was exactly what we did. Kind of goes to show who wears the pants in our family, huh?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TRACK: DRTHH OST: 1-26- Beautiful Morning

The moment we set foot in the school building, we were subjected to a rushing wave of staff members as they scurried about in an attempt to make final preparations for the entrance ceremony before the students came in. While it was good that they were capable of functioning without administration telling them what to do, they were cutting it extremely close to school hours. The entrance ceremony was supposed to start at eight-thirty, and by the time we'd managed to make it inside it was about eight-twenty. If you have any understanding of numbers, you'd know that that means there were only ten minutes until the students were supposed to start pouring in. Not exactly ideal.

"Oh, hey, there you are!" A familiar voice squeaked just as soon as we had wandered in to the foyer, the person it belonged to jogging up to us with a big smile on her face. If the voice hadn't been enough, the swinging brown ponytail would have been the dead giveaway. "I was wondering when you guys were gonna get here!"

"Yeah, sorry we're a little bit late, Hina." Dad apologized, scratching his cheek out of habit. "I didn't anticipate everything taking so long this morning, but you know how it is. First day!"

"Ah, don't worry about it! I completely understand and quite honestly don't blame you. We've got everything under control here, so getting ready for your big speech should be a breeze." She affirmed, glancing over her shoulder as if to admire the organized work that everyone was doing. She was acting as if she didn't even notice the chaos going on behind her at all. It didn't make us all that inclined to believe her. After all, the whole building had this aura of worry radiating around it, as if everybody else was just as nervous about today as I was. The staff members seemed to be running all over the place, barking out orders and requests to one another as well as repeatedly announcing what time it was to remind everyone that they were on a schedule. Not exactly the definition of orderly. To say that everything was under control would be a statement that was a little too optimistic, even for Aoi.

"It certainly does not seem like it," Mom countered bluntly as she observed the status of the foyer. She wasn't exactly the type to hold back when it came to these kinds of things. "In fact, I don't think I've seen a school be this out of control since our days at Hope's Peak, Aoi-chan."

The smaller woman simply giggled slightly and offered a shrug of the shoulders. "Okay, so maybe it's not as controlled as it could be, but for the record you did leave Yasuhiro, Toko, Byakuya and I in charge. Historically that's been a recipe for disaster."

"That is true, dear, I suppose that one is on us." Dad snickered, wrapping an arm around Mom's waist and pulling her closer to him. She grinned slightly, clearly quite grateful for the affection as she snuggled in closer. 

"Yeah, kinda is, but don't worry- I'm pretty sure that everything'll work out just fine. There's not much left for the two of you to worry about!" She said, trying to comfort them with this and her usual cheeky wink and grin combo. Then, without missing a beat, she turned to look at me. "Besides, you guys should focus on getting Koichi-chan acquainted with everything today! Are you excited to be here or what, Koichi?"

I tried to ignore the fact that Aoi was still using the honourific "chan" for me despite my being fourteen and give her the best answer I felt I could conjure within that moment. "I guess you could say that I'm excited. Mostly it feels like I'm nervous now, but that could be anticipation more than anything." I admitted, attempting to push my hands in to the pockets of my hoodie only to realize that I was wearing my new school uniform. I don't remember who designed the replacement school uniforms for Hope's Peak, but clearly they were lacking in all practicality if they opted not to put pockets in their blazers. Damn you, school uniform designer with a poor sense of practicality! Making me look like an idiot when I habitually attempt to shove my hands in my pockets. "I really want to know what Hope's Peak has in store for me, I guess."

"That's understandable, it's a big and unpredictable place. I don't blame you for being a little worried, but don't let that get in the way of your fun, okay?" She told me, bouncing back and forth from one foot to another. Just by watching her you could tell she had an uncontrollable amount of energy. It made me wonder if perhaps she hadn't had the opportunity to go on her morning run before coming to work. "You're in for a real good time, little man! If you want to go ahead to the auditorium right now, I think Yasuhiro-san's in there setting up the microphone so your dad can give the Headmaster's address to the incoming students. If you and your sister go now, I'm sure you'll be able to get the best seats in the house. Just look for the sign that says where your class will be sitting. You're in class 99-A, right?"

"Yep, that's the one." I replied, offering up a slight smile as I spoke to her. I was honestly grateful for her willingness to help in a time like this, God knows I needed it.

"Then if I remember correctly, you should be on the far right toward the front. That's where all of the first years sit, so you've all got a good view and some of the best acoustics in the house. If you go in now Leon and Sakura will probably already be there putting up signs for the classes, so you can just ask the two of them where you need to go if you end up getting lost." She explained, putting her hands on her hips as excitement beamed from her face. It was clear to everyone that Aoi adored being a physical education teacher here at Hope's Peak even in just the simple way she provided me with instructions.

"Okay, thanks a bunch for the help, Aoi." I shot her one last smile before turning to Mom and Dad, who had also moved to face me. They knew by then that it was time for us to go our separate ways for the day, but I knew I was not to worry. I could see them partway through the day when we had our lunch breaks, as staff and students had them at the same time. Still, I found that the worry really came more from them than it did from me. Even though they'd done this once before with Hope, I knew that they would likely fret about me all day.

"I suppose this is it?" Mom murmured, her violet eyes softening as she watched me. Without thinking she seemed to take a step forward, grasping her own arm tightly as if the thought of me going off on my own scared her half to death. She hadn't looked this concerned about me since I had been learning to ride a bicycle, I thought.

"Yep, I think so." I sighed, standing up a little straighter for the sake of appearing more confident. It was a little more for her sake than it was for me, but hey, what can I say? After all, I was the only one who knew how nervous this whole scenario had truly made me. The least I could do was pretend to be confident for my mom.

"Alright then..." She mumbled, her eyes darting down to the floor for a moment before flicking back up to lock on mine. When they did, her whole face had shifted to express a motherly tenderness. "Well, have a good day. Remember to be polite and make sure that you're listening when others are speaking to you. Be considerate of your fellow students and take great care in participating and being all there when you are in class."

"I know, I know..." I sighed, wondering why on earth she was still treating me like I was a child. I was a high school student, after all. She didn't have to baby me, I hadn't forgotten how to use my manners just like she'd taught me. 

"Hey," Dad said with a nudge, "One will suffice. Your mom's just looking out for you." There was very slight annoyance in his voice, so I knew he wasn't all that upset, but it still caught me by surprise.

"S-Sorry." I apologized, feeling slightly embarrassed about being scolded in front of the Hope's Peak staff... not that any of them were paying attention to me, anyway. They were all far too absorbed in getting those last few tasks done before the students arrived.

"It's fine, it's nothing to worry about. We just want you to have a good first day." Mom interrupted before Dad could scold me anymore for being whiny about the way Mom had been speaking to me. "I do not mean to be overbearing."

"It's okay, I'm just a little high-strung right now. Not one-hundred percent myself, y'know?" I laughed gracelessly, shrugging my shoulders a bit. She simply nodded, clearly understanding exactly what it was that I was trying to convey within that sentence. "But I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure I'll be fine once I get comfortable. Then I'll come home and tell you guys all about my spectacular first day of school, 'kay?"

This seemed to make both of my parents beam with pride and delight as they watched my face. They were both making it apparent that this was a happiness they desperately wanted for me to have. I knew that the least I could do was try to help this ambition of theirs along by reassuring them that I would do whatever I could to make it happen. 

"Sounds like a plan," Dad responded, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Alright, have a good day. We love you!"

I couldn't fight off my smile as I joined my sister near the doors that lead to the auditorium. As I looked at them over my shoulder, I called back: "I love you too!"

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Making our way in to the auditorium was a pretty uneventful experience. Pretty much as soon as we opened the doors we were greeted with rows upon rows of red chairs waiting to be sat in by the incoming students. On either side of these red chairs, there were staircases that helped ensure that every student could reach a row and take their seat. If that weren't enough, there was also a nice big stage at the front of the room where we could all focus our attention when the time came. Does that sound boring? Cause it is. There is no good way to describe the school's auditorium. Like I said, the auditorium was not really that exciting of a place. The most exciting thing that was in it when Hope and I entered were Leon, Sakura, and Yasuhiro.

"Well look what the cat dragged in, it's the Naegi-Kirigiri kids!" Leon's voice boomed as he tossed his sign aside and came sprinting down one of the sets of stairs. "Sakura-chan and I were wondering when the hell you guys were going to show up!"

"Leon-kun, you can't just throw your sign like that!" Sakura protested, her brows furrowing as she scolded him. If it had not been for Leon's thrilled outburst, I'm sure she would have been just as pleased as he was to see us. However, because it had happened, Sakura's priorities went in to picking up the sign that Leon had so carelessly discarded once he saw that Hope and I had come through the door.

"Oh!" Leon seemed to realize his mistake once he had skidded to a stop about three feet in front of us. He whipped his head back around to look at Sakura, offering her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I didn't mean to be so careless!"

Sakura seemed to sigh and shake her head slightly, but I was sure she'd already forgiven him. Ever since we were little kids, she'd always been the gentle and forgiving type, so fortunately one never had to worry about her being upset with you for interminable amounts of time. My hypothesis of her forgiveness to Leon would later prove true when she moved to join him in front of us, both of their signs in tow.

"Hey, you guys," Hope greeted her friends cheerfully, waving almost too enthusiastically for people she saw practically every single day. "You ready for another first day?"

"Oh hell yeah!" Leon cheered, pumping his fist in the air. "This is going to be so sick, especially now that Koichi-kun's here! Now our little team of Survivor kids is really complete!"

"You could say that again." Sakura added gently, her black ringlets bouncing as she continued to move toward us. "I've got a good feeling about this year."

"Me too!" Hope giggled, "I can't wait to see what the year has in store. Not only for us though, but for Koichi too."

I didn't really know what to say to all of their statements, so I just laughed. I mean, I'd known Leon and Sakura since we were kids but they didn't really feel exactly like they were *my* friends. Leon, Sakura, and Hope were all born within the same year and had known each other since they were newborns. They'd spent all kinds of time together growing up, and almost always were in the same classes. It was different for me. Though I definitely cared greatly about Leon and Sakura and did consider them close friends, I more often felt as if they were more Hope's friends than they were mine. It was more like I was just apart of the Hope package deal, I guess. Almost as if I was their younger sibling, too, as well as hers. It was no fault of theirs that I felt that way, though. I just didn't fit. In all honesty, I usually had a pretty rough time fitting anywhere, including with my own classmates. Even so, Leon and Sakura always did their best to act as if they were clueless about the fact that I didn't really fit within the group.

"So," Leon questioned, his golden eyes inspecting every detail of my face as he spoke to me. "What would you say that you're most excited about? Is there anything you really want to do or try while you're here?"

Again, like all of the previous times I was asked questions of this nature, I shrugged. It felt cheesy to say that I wanted true friends, and I was afraid that they would treat that as a childish desire, so I figured it was best to not say anything. They already saw me as a little kid anyway, so a shrug had to be the better answer, right?

"Aw, come on little brother!" Hope pressured, clinging on to my arm. "Isn't there anything you want to do while you're here? I mean, the world is at your fingertips here!" As if to emphasize her point, she released my arm rather quickly and threw her arms open wide, nearly hitting me in the face in the process.

"Uh... beats me?" I offered, knowing that she was only going to roll her eyes at me. "At the current moment I would like to find my seat so I can avoid being hit in the face by you and your wild hand gestures."

Just as predicted, Hope's eyes did their rotation. "Oh, go sit down then you big party pooper. Just come find me after the ceremony if you think of something or you need anything from me, 'kay? Good luck, little bro, and have a good day!"

"Thanks!" I responded, shaking my head at her as I made my way to the section where Class 99-A was supposed to be sitting. As expected, the chairs were Spartan in terms of people. It wasn't just in my class, either. In terms of people who were sitting down, the whole auditorium was pretty empty. Thinking about how odd this was, I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my pants and checked the time. As the screen flickered to life I caught a glimpse of the numbers: eight twenty-five. The students were due to enter in five minutes, but it wouldn't surprise me if any of them were early. Every year there's always a group of them who are— usually the first years like myself. That's why it kind of took me by surprise that I was sitting all alone, watching my honorary uncle fiddle with the microphone stand in an effort to get it to work the way he wanted it to. I figured that eventually someone in my class would *have* to come in, but for the next five minutes I found myself staring at the auditorium's entrance until finally the door cracked open ever so slightly to reveal a girl who was poking her head in shyly. She moved so quickly that I could barely get a good look at her face before she swung the door shut again. Then, much more smoothly than she had closed it, she opened it yet again. This time she was sure to swing it open all the way so she could enter with ease and reveal herself to me.

That was the first time I laid eyes on her, the girl who would change everything. For better? For worse? Well, that's the kind of thing that I get to know and you have to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for tuning in for chapter two! I apologize for it not having been a very exciting one, but I would call it a necessary evil in terms of establishing the story itself. So, at the very least I hope you can forgive me for that.
> 
> Anyway, before this is all over I just wanted to touch base with anyone who's interested in seeing additional content- this project is actually something I crafted specifically for the Danganronpa Amino, meaning that this story was originally equipped with inserted pictures that had to be removed in the final AO3 version. In addition to this not supporting images where I needed them, AO3 also does not have a way for me to keep all additional content that is not 100% writing at hand for anyone who genuinely is interested in additional information about these characters. I also currently don't have a way of updating any of you on the progression of my writing, which is something I'd like to be able to do if at all possible.
> 
> So I wanted to consult with anybody who wants that content, who wants to know what the characters look like, some silly headcanons I have for them, useless trivia, random memes I've made, etc. to see if there would be any interest in possibly an Instagram/Tumblr account for this additional stuff I've come up with. I'm open to suggestion on any of these things, so if you have some thing to say please let me know. I just wanted to offer up ideas for this content for anyone who was interested.
> 
> I genuinely appreciate you supporting my story and please know that as a writer who has been very shy about her writing her entire life, this means the world to me. I hope I can make something that you will enjoy, and I wish each and every one of you a wonderful day/night/week/month/year/rest of your life!


	3. Chapter Three: The Girl with the Pink Ribbon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After parting with his parents and sister, Koichi is finally alone in Hope's Peak Academy. Fearful but curious, Koichi finds himself stuck on a particularly beautiful girl who has wandered in to the room... one that he claims changed his life.

Chapter 3: The Girl with the Pink Ribbon

TRACK: Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy OST 1 - 08. Bli Bli Buchibuchi

The girl who changed me, that's what I'd call her if I was speaking to someone who didn't know her name. There's nothing else I can really refer to her as other than that.

Amongst a group of your average Japanese high school students, this girl definitely would have stood out. Whether her obvious individuality was demonstrated from her appearance or overall mannerisms I didn't know, but even so I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Based off her skin tone and a few facial features alone, I would have guessed that she was biracial. She certainly looked Japanese, but there was another quality to her face that reminded me of a foreigner. During the time that we knew each other, I never did get the chance to ask. If I had, I suspect she would have told me that she was part-Japanese, part-Polynesian. Of course, I don't mean that her being biracial was the most striking thing about her— it was merely something I had remarked about her when I caught my first glimpse of her. One could even compare the observation to that of the pink ribbon she wore with her school uniform.

For the sake of expressing individuality among students, school uniforms were to be worn but we could each either choose our own ribbon or tie. Personally I'd gone with red in an effort to keep myself understated, so the light pink ribbon was an interesting choice to me. Paired up against the dark colours featured in the school's uniform, it almost made me feel as if she wore it in an effort to try and pull attention toward her... and I guess you can say it worked, although I believe she could have caught the gaze of all of the people in a room without the ribbon. Her eyes alone spoke wonders about what she could do to entrance people. Just one look and you were lost in them. They were so big and sparkly and green, one could mistake them for the eyes of a black cat caught in the dead of the night. Yet what separated them from those of a cat was the softness within them that showed that this girl was not to be feared, but admired. Not just for her striking eyes, but for everything else that made her beautiful. Paired with her eyes was hair an unusual shade of blonde, one that I assume would be referred to as something cheesy like "himawari" by hair companies trying to sell Japanese girls on their products. (Actually, now that I think about it, there's a pretty good chance that she was one of those girls who got roped into buying a hair bleaching product that claimed to give girls hair the colour of a sunflower...) From what I could tell she had somewhat fluffy and messy hair, but she seemed to prefer keeping it tied up in a high ponytail rather than letting it flow down her back. In a sense, her hair type reminded me of a much more tame version of Hope's hair, and I guess by extension my own hair too. 

Unlike both Hope and I, though, her facial features were not all that soft and child-like. If I had to find a way to describe her facial structure, it would be elegant, like my mom's. The only feature she had that contradicted such a description is what people would describe as a button nose. Aside from that, she had high cheekbones and some of the most fluttery eyelashes I'd ever seen. They looked like they could have belonged to an angel, but with the general vibe I got when I looked at her I had been convinced that it might have been because she was one. I don't know why but she felt so friendly to me that when she started to walk over to me, I didn't even feel daunted or intimidated by her. It was almost as if I was looking at an old friend that I'd been dying to see for such a very long time.

Even though this was the case, though, the fact that she was just that pretty made me lose my cool just a little bit. It suddenly dawned on me that for the past minute I had been staring at her, so before she could get close enough to notice me I pretended to be invested in my phone. I had no idea if she'd ever noticed, but I didn't exactly have any desire to know either. I decided that it would probably be best to act as if I hadn't seen her, which is exactly what I did. Even when she was only a few feet away from me, I kept my eyes locked on my phone as I scrolled through old messages between myself and a girl I had done a school project with in junior high. Y'know, so I could act like I was doing something. Kind of a lame facade, I know, but I didn't really have anything else that would look convincing. Fortunately, though, she didn't seem to recognize that I wasn't actually still sending messages back and forth with this girl. Instead, when she approached me with a meek look on her face, she murmured out a light: "Excuse me?"

Immediately upon hearing the sound of her voice, I flicked my head up and pretended to be surprised by her presence. "Oh! Hi," I greeted her, doing my best to look friendly and approachable. "Is there something you can help you with?"

As soon as I uttered my response, she plastered a small grin on her face. I could tell just by looking at her that she was relieved to have found someone who was non-threatening. I mean, considering I stand at five feet one inches and have the face of an eleven year old, I was probably the least threatening person there. "Yeah, actually. This is where Class 99-B is supposed to be, right?"

Next thing I knew there was a sheepish smile on my face as I moved to scratch my cheek out of habit. It was plain to see how vulnerable she felt she was making herself by coming up to ask me a question, which only made it worse now that I had to correct her. "A-Actually..." I sputtered gracelessly, "I think Class 99-B is supposed to be sitting over on the left."

Rather than appearing embarrassed, she brought her hand to her mouth and giggled. "I know. I only asked because I needed an excuse to come over here and talk to you. I'm Matsumoto Tamiko." She held out her hand for me to shake, which I accepted graciously. I tried to play it off like I wasn't stunned by her response, but I think the flushing of my face was a dead giveaway that I had been. That was like some sort of weird flirting tactic that quite honestly had caught me off-guard, given I sucked at flirting. And talking to people in general. But that, my friend, is a completely different story.

"I-It's nice to meet you," I sputtered out as I took her hand, feeling the heat spread all throughout my face despite my fruitless commands to my body to cut that crap out. "I'm Koichi."

"Koichi?" Tamiko echoed, tilting her head to the side slightly as if she didn't understand what I had told her. Koichi was and had always been a pretty standard Japanese name, nothing really all that odd about it. I mean, it was the name of my mother's godfather, and the name itself meant happiness... It didn't strike me as anything out of the ordinary until she asked. "No offence, but do you have a surname that I can address you by? It's just a little awkward for me to be on a first name basis with someone I've just met..." 

"H-Huh?! Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't even think to tell you my surname!" I yelped, the voice in the back of my mind screaming that I had already lost all chances of ever being seen as cool in Tamiko's eyes. The fact that my voice had become so much squeakier and higher when I uttered my apology probably didn't help too much either. Still I opted to ignore it, as I had been pretty adamant that that would have been the case whether or not I'd goofed up my own stupid name. "Let me try that again- it's nice to meet you, Matsumoto-san. My name's Koichi Naegi-Kirigiri, but for convenience's sake most people refer to me as Naegi-san."

"Naegi-Kirigiri?" Tamiko parroted once again, the expression on her face twisting in to some sort of pained confusion for a split second before transforming back in to a soft smile. "If your surname is Naegi-Kirigiri, does that mean that you're related to Headmaster Naegi and Vice Principal Kirigiri?"

Whatever happened to having your own identity, Koichi?

The little Koichi in my brain sang, and I had the overwhelming urge to squish him. Not that he ever actually existed for me to squish anyway, but I mean, nevertheless he was there. Instead I chose to just give him the standard response.

Oh, shut up, you.

The embarrassment I was feeling seemed to have been processed through the rest of my body before it hit my head, as it dawned on me that I was scratching my cheek subconsciously. Yet again I ignored it, like it was the twenty-seventh call from my mother after staying out past curfew by mistake. "Y-Yeah, I'm actually the middle child of their three kids," I answered with a graceless rise and fall of my shoulders, following after with the useless addition of: "Their only son."

"Really?" She questioned, her green eyes sparkling just as brightly as they always had within the two minutes that I had known her. Before I knew it, she had gathered up her skirt in front of her and plopped herself down beside me. She seemed to be leaning on the arm rest, almost as if she was desperate to get closer to me. Not going to lie, at first it kind of freaked me out, although I suppose it was nice to have somebody who was interested in me. At least... hopefully she was interested in me and not just my parents. "It's strange, I didn't think of it when I saw you, but I totally see the resemblance. You look so much like your dad!"

I forced myself to laugh at that gratingly frequent comment. "Yeah... Probably doesn't help that we have the same birthday, too."

Tamiko moved back and raised an eyebrow in a sort of amused surprise. "Really?"

"Yup, February fifth." I answered somewhat shyly, wondering why on earth I felt this urge to be so open with Tamiko about my life. I mean, to most people this wouldn't be considered that open at all, but I didn't tend to talk about my family that much to people I'd just met. It had a history of leading to shallow relationships with my peers and an unfortunate lack of real friends in the past, so I did my best to stay away from speaking of them any more than I had to. Perhaps it was her overall softness that had driven me to speak of any of that stuff with her at all. "And that's of course among other similar things. We both like the same video games, we both snore, we both have the same peanut allergy... It's almost embarrassing how alike we can be sometimes."

"Aw, come on!" Tamiko squeaked happily, placing both of her hands over her heart. "I don't think that's embarrassing at all, in fact, it's really sweet that you and your dad are so alike. I bet the two of you must be close!"

Unable to deny that fact, I nodded. As lame as some people might say it sounds, Dad had pretty much been my best friend since I was a little kid. Mom says that even when I was a baby, I always preferred him to her. I mean, it's not like I hated my mom or anything— I definitely didn't— I just always had a strong connection with my dad. When I was a little kid, he was my hero. It seemed like there was nothing he couldn't do, and even with all of the cool things he'd done, he took the time to spend time with me. So how could he not be my best friend and the one person I could always depend on? As silly as it seemed to other people, it had always been logical to me.

"I guess you could say we're pretty close..." I confessed, willing myself not to go off on the tangent about how I didn't really have many friends growing up and how I could always rely on my dad to be my friend in that time of need. That kind of thing just seemed like something I should probably share with Tamiko on another day. You don't really dump your emotional baggage on someone you just met, right? "We do spend a lot of time together."

"That's just so undeniably sweet!" She squealed, clasping her hand together with this huge grin on her face. If I'm being completely honest, the reaction she gave actually startled me. I had never had anyone react that excitedly to something so simple— even Hope, who was easily one of the most excitable people I knew. It was almost unnatural how thrilled she was about it. "So many boys our age don't have good relationships with their fathers at all, so it really is nice to hear that you and your dad get along so well. He's probably super proud of you, considering you managed to get in to Hope's Peak and all!"

I sure hope he is. I want to make him proud.

"That reminds me, actually—" She began, making my heart jump. I wasn't a psychic or anything, but I had a feeling that I would be able to predict what she was going to say.

Oh god, here comes the kicker. She's going to ask, isn't she?

"I totally forgot to ask earlier, but do you have an ultimate talent? I mean, I know not everyone has one but I thought it'd be good to ask. You know, so we can get to know each other!" She chirped, clearly clueless about the fact that I was screaming on the inside. I mean, I know it was silly of me to even be reacting like that in the first place, but we had only just met. Though she may have projected herself as kind and friendly, I couldn't guarantee that she wasn't going to judge me. For whatever reason, I guess that idea really freaked me out.

"Oh, uh... I don't actually have one," I admitted awkwardly, doing my best to avoid wincing. I had no idea what I expected her to do once I'd told her, but I suppose that was mostly because I had played the reaction up so much in my head. "Sorry to disappoint." was all I could manage to choke out after my initial confession. Thankfully despite my obvious discomfort, Tamiko continued to appear as cheerful as ever. Suddenly I found myself wondering if this whole being talented thing meant anything to anyone other than me.

"That's okay, I don't actually have one either. I made the Reserve Class, just like you, I presume?"

All I could find in me to do was nod. So I nodded. By this point I was aware of how graceless I was being, but I couldn't find it within myself to get it under control. The whole day seemed like it was going to be one screw-up after the other.

"Even so, you must be here because there's something you like to do, right?" She asked, her basil-coloured eyes beginning to twinkle once again as she watched me. "That's why most people come to Hope's Peak, isn't it? 'Cause they have something they love to do, and want that talent nurtured. So tell me, Naegi-san, what is it that you're here to do?"

"M-Me? Oh uh..." I babbled, pointing to myself as if to confirm that I was the one she was asking about. As if there was anybody else she'd call by that name in the vicinity. "I guess the talent that I wanted to work on while I'm here is martial arts. I mean, I've been doing it ever since I was a little kid, so I guess that I just want to continue to get better at it. I can do about five of the major ones so far."

"Really? That's so neat, and so exciting! If you don't mind my asking, which martial arts can you do? Can you do karate?"

"Pffft, karate?" I laughed, folding my arms across my chest. "Karate is too big for its britches, and it's nowhere near as cool as everyone claims it is. It's probably the martial art that I am the least interested in. The five that I can do are aikido, judo, hapkido, jiu jitsu, and taekwondo."

"Ooh, that sounds fun. Wait, if you do judo, does that mean you can like flip people and stuff?" 

"Yeah, but usually only people who are around the same size as me. A guy this height can only have so much strength in his arms." I shrugged as I felt a sensation of warmth spread through my chest. It made me feel almost as if I wanted to laugh or cry out joyfully, because I was fairly certain that I knew what was happening. After all, we'd both been so lost in the conversation we were having already that we hadn't even noticed the crowds of students piling in around us. I figured that that had to be a good sign.

"Well, you and I are around the same size! Do you think you could show me sometime?" 

"You want me to flip you? Are you sure? It kind of hurts. I mean, the first time I got flipped, I cried and my dad had to get me some ice. I mean, I was eight, but even so." I warned with a slight laugh, secretly grateful that she had even asked me about being a test subject for my judo skills. It was likely to mean that she was warming up to me. 

"Yes, I'm sure. I may not look like it, Naegi-san, but I can take a pretty good hit." She snickered, moving to stuck a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "I've come here to study figure skating after all, so I'm pretty good at falling and being flung against hard surfaces."

"What do you mean 'being flung'? Do you do partner figure skating?" 

"Oh, yeah. My partner's actually here, as the Super High School Level Figure Skater. His name's Imagawa Kosuke. I don't suppose you've met him, have you?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him, but I've definitely heard his name. I had no idea that the two of you were figure skating partners. That's so cool! How long have you guys been dancing together?"

"Oh, uh..." Tamiko paused to think. I could only assume that she was trying to count up all of the months and years that they had been working together, for her face didn't show any unusual signs of panic. "About... six months or so, or something? He used to work with this other girl named Hiyama Hana until... well, there was an accident and unfortunately she passed away. We've been working together ever since."

"Oh, god. I'm sorry to hear about Hiyama-san." I sputtered clumsily, not able to determine exactly how I should go about comforting her. I mean, I didn't even any clue as to whether or not she had been close to this girl. I could only make assumptions based on what I knew. "Did you know her well?"

To this, Tamiko responded with a shake of the head. "No, I cannot say we were close. I definitely looked up to her, but ultimately we never spoke much. Apparently she and Imagawa-san were in the running for the Super High School Level title together, but after she passed it was left to him."

"I see... that's really unfortunate."

"Yeah... I worry about him a lot, as he doesn't really talk much or interact with many of the others. Sometimes not even me, but I don't care. I still have to look out for him no matter what. At the very least we're in the same class this year, so I should be able to take good care of him." She told me, a small smile beginning to creep its way back on to her face. "It's always comforting to have a friend. Aside from your family, do you know anybody here?"

"Just two of the older students, but they might as well be considered my family," I admitted, scratching the back of my neck just to avoid doing the same with my cheek. "I mean, one of them is my godmother's daughter and the other is the son of one of my parents' best friends."

"Ah, I see. All of your friends decided to go to other schools?" 

My first instinct was to blurt out the truth to her without any second thought, but luckily I was able to suppress that urge in favour of something that made me seem a little less pitiable. "Yeah, they did. I wasn't all that worried about it, though. I figured that there would be some cool people to meet here, and we could go on all kinds of neat adventures together."

"You know, that's a pretty optimistic way of looking at things. Perhaps that's another way that you and your father are alike!" She teased, moving confidently to boop my nose just as Seiko would do. "That aside, it's really nice to hear an attitude like that. I hope that you and I will be able to go on all kinds of adventures together while we're here."

"Me too. I have a hunch that this will probably be the start of something incredibly special for both of us. Hopefully for your friend Imagawa, too."

"Agreed," Tamiko giggled. "I can already tell that you're going to be a great friend to me, and the adventures we'll have together will be to die for."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I re-wrote this diddly darn chapter five times. This is probably the hardest time I've ever had writing a Danganronpa 21 chapter, so if it wasn't to your liking, I sincerely apologize as I did try my best. 
> 
> Much like the previous chapter, this one was what I would call an "establishing chapter". However, I wouldn't write this chapter off as nothing too quickly. It means more than you think. Aside from that though, you can expect some more *exciting* stuff to be happening in chapter four, which will likely be released within five to seven days (that's the new release schedule). Thanks so much for your support so far, and I hope that I can continue to entertain you!
> 
> Oh, and one more thing before I go: thanks to the request of a lovely reader by the name of NotFanFicNet, I've assembled a Tumblr page for Danganronpa 21 so you can all visit to learn additional info about the stories and the cast and see the images I've made for the characters. At the current moment the blog only contains a character profiles for the fankids who appear in Chapters 1-3, but I hope to continue to add content as time goes on. 
> 
> Tumblr Link: https://danganronpa-21.tumblr.com/
> 
> Again, thank you so much for all of the support I've received so far. You guys are truly the people keeping me going with this and all of your kind words never fail to make me smile. Have an amazing day!


	4. New Friends and Familiar Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having parted ways with his new friend, Koichi finds himself crammed in to a classroom with twenty-four other kids his age. Though the first three periods of the day seem to demonstrate that all of them are friendly and approachable, Koichi knows for a fact that there is a certain student in his class who just won't play nice.
> 
> *EMETOPHOBIA WARNING*

Chapter 4: New Friends and Familiar Enemies

TRACK: Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy OST 1 - 2O. Dangan Break.

Before I even took the entrance exam to get in to Hope's Peak Academy, I auditioned to be apart of the school's Talent Class Program instead of the Reserve Class one. Actually, if you want to get technical, I was auditioned more than once. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I was forced to audition twice. 

The first time I was by myself, in front of a small room of people that included about four members of the school board, my father and my mother, and a talent scout. The second time, in a crowded gymnasium with all kinds of onlookers and people participating in the audition. The second time, this collection of people also happened to include an opponent by the name of Asuga Oyama.

Thanks to a heated debate between the school board and the staff at the academy, the second audition for the Talent Class title of the Super High School Level Martial Artist was held as a full-out brawl between the two students who had been selected for the role. Myself, the headmaster and vice principal's son who all in all didn't stand out too much; and another girl who stood out a little too much through her past school expulsions due to extreme violence. Thanks to the girl's history of violence in her background, Mom and Dad had wanted to reject her application for it didn't fit their requirements of what a Hope's Peak student should be. However, this screamed bias to the school board who claimed that they were surprised and even angered to not see her name in the outgoing student letters. Once they explained the circumstances, the school board shrugged off their concerns and said that a second audition should be conducted in which the two contenders fought for the rights to the title. While Mom and Dad originally tried to reject this idea, the school board forced their hands. So on a Monday evening, I received news that I was going to have to audition for a second time in the following week against an opponent I'd never met. As if that weren't enough, by the end I wasn't able to recall a lot of what happened in my second audition.

The end, especially, I don't remember. I don't remember the point in which it all turned bad. I don't remember the sensation of pain that was coursing through my body in those moments, or the feeling of the blood dribbling down my lips and chin. I can't recall the exact moment that I tumbled to the ground in bitter defeat. I can only remember what other people have told me about those last few moments, and even then they're hazy and seem almost unreal.

According to what I've been told, she got one good hit in at my nose. Fortunately there was no crunching sound, so it didn't seem like it was broken. Still, upon impact it began to mercilessly gush blood which dripped down my chin and neck, soaking my gi. At that point I'm told my parents were beginning to look a little more antsy, hoping that I would be able to take the shot no matter my pain and recover well. I can recall hoping for that too, but another strike forced in to my gut knocked the wind out of me and sent me tumbling backwards. 

The crowd let out an "ooh" as I hit the mat, my lungs screaming for air as my brain tried to grasp the idea of me having been knocked on to my butt. I sat there for a split second, gasping and sputtering desperately as I strived for comprehension of situation. I should have known that I didn't have time to process it, though, for the next thing I knew I was receiving a warning from the referee that I'd have to get up soon or I'd be considered down for the count. Staying on the ground was not an option for me. It just wasn't. So despite everything that I was feeling in my body while I sat there on the mat, I used every nerve that I possibly could to push myself to my feet and maybe get myself back on track. The spectators began to cheer as I rose to my feet, but they quickly cut themselves off as soon as they saw her grab on to me and flip me. With how swiftly she'd been able to pick me up, you'd think I was nothing more than a sack of potatoes to her. Well, I suppose perhaps I was because much like the potatoes would, I received some nasty bruises from that flip. 

As the crowd watched my struggle, voices began to shout from the stands and call out to me. The voices were cheering me on and assuring me that I would be able to get the upper hand against her once again if I just got back on to my feet. I had wanted to believe them, but the aching that had spread throughout my back and the rest of my body told me otherwise. I knew that if I didn't want to suffer an unfortunate fate, I would have to get up, but my body felt like it didn't remember how anymore. The only thing it seemed to understand was pure, untainted pain as I laid there on my back.

"Come on, Koichi, little buddy, get up!" I heard Yasuhiro yell from the stands, likely cupping his hands around his mouth so his voice would project louder. 

"You can do it, Koichi, we know you can!" Aunt Komaru whooped next. I could already picture the way she was pumping her fist in the air. "You're doing great!"

"K-K-K-Kick her ass, kid!" Toko added, not allowing her stuttering problem to quiet her down. Realistically it was wrong of her to be saying that as a member of staff, especially considering it showed bias, but... Toko wasn't really one to play by the rules. She was incredibly good at speaking her mind, no matter how cruel or mean she was being. Usually it tended to be difficult to put up with; however, in that moment I found it actually pretty encouraging. Knowing that my family and friends were supporting me and had my back, I struggled to sit up and push myself to my feet once again. 

"Seriously? Are you going to give up or what?" My opponent snarled as she adjusted the buns that she'd tied her teal hair up in. Despite my multiple attacks, she seemed to be doing a lot better than I was. She seemed to only be bleeding a little bit from her lip and her most noticeable bruise had only just begun to swell. "Aren't you ready to say that Oyama Asuga-san will be the next Super High School Level Martial Artist?"

"Fat chance of that," I retorted, putting on a smirk despite the pain and the persisting flavour of copper. "I'm going to knock your teeth out and show you who's boss."

"Hmph. Too bad you talk smack better than you fight." She countered, her body reacting in time with her words as she moved her leg up to perform a crescent kick. Instinctively I ducked, her foot just narrowly grazing my head as I nearly hit the floor. Now that she had made an attempt at getting a hit in, I knew I'd have to move quickly. As I sprung back up from the floor, I took my chance as quickly as possible and followed up with a twisting kick. Fortunately I was able to move fast enough that it collided directly with Asuga's nose. There was a slight crunching sound as it made impact, and soon it began to drip blood down her front just as mine had. Without thinking she had cupped her hands around it as involuntary tears sprung to her eyes, and for a moment I thought maybe I had her beat. If I could move fast enough to get a hit in just after she removed her hands, I thought maybe I would be able to get the upper hand. That was all I thought I really needed in that moment, to be the winner. After all, the brawl wasn't going to be over until one of us either surrendered or was no longer able to fight.

Regrettably, this was a severe blunder on my part that ultimately lead to failure. As I stood there for a moment, watching Asuga with careful eyes, I was able to observe Asuga as she drew her hands away from her nose and wiped the blood off with the back of her hand. Her gaze seemed to linger the scarlet smear on her hand for a moment, and before I knew it her icy blue eyes had pried themselves away from her hand to look at me. People have told me that even from the audience seating, they could all see the absolute fury in Asuga's eyes as she glared over at me. Her jaw clenched tight and her breathing unsteady, Asuga let out a low growling sound before lunging forward and allowing her hand to collide forcefully with my chin. 

As I felt the impact I stumbled backward slightly, cringing at the feeling of my teeth being forced together due to how she struck my jaw. How unusual it was of me to have been caught off guard by something as simple as shomen-ate. When all is said and done, shomen-ate is one of the basic movements used in aikido. You could argue that it was cheap of Asuga to even use such a shot, but then again... you could also argue that it was representative of her superiority that she was able to hit me with it. I could tell that all of the spectators, no matter if they were cheering on my opponent or myself, knew that I should have been able to avoid that. But I didn't. I didn't and it enabled her to continue to her attack, each strike more powerful than the last. 

It wasn't as if I wasn't trying to fight back. I was— I was whipping out everything I had to try and beat her. I was pulling moves from each of the five martial arts that I knew, but every single move I made seemed to be returned with a block and then a vicious attack against me. Before I knew it I felt blood begin to gush from my nose again thanks to another impact, and my right eye had been hit so many times that it was starting to swell. Trying desperately to stay on my feet, I bit down on my mouth guard and attempted to think of a plan to get me out of the scenario. It felt as if it was almost no use, for it seemed every move that I made, Asuga always had a counterattack for it. It probably wasn't too helpful that I was beginning to feel a little woozy in the head area, either. I felt almost as if I couldn't stand on my own two feet anymore, my stomach churning as the room spun around me. 

 

'I've got to keep fighting.' I barely remember telling myself. For what, I wonder now. At that point it had become abundantly clear that I had no chance and yet I refused to be crushed under the weight of my opponent's superiority. My reflexes were slowing and the world kept spinning and I felt like I was going to vomit. I felt practically defenceless as Asuga grabbed on to me and performed another judo flip, slamming me down in to the mat. Pain spread throughout my entire back and shot down my legs as well. I laid there for a moment, processing all of the pain I was experiencing until finally I knew that I had to push myself up. Some of the audience members cheered as I rolled over and stood on all fours, expecting me to eventually push myself back up to being on two feet. But I didn't. Instead, I listened carefully to the angry shouts I was hearing from the stands.

"This is barbaric!" A familiar voice yelled, "You're sick for making them do this. He's obviously injured, just call off the fight already! He needs help! I don't care about the competition, it's not worth these kids getting hurt!"

I didn't hear the response to that statement. I wasn't even able to decipher who's voice it was yelling, only that it belonged to a man I was sure I knew. Rather than forcing myself to understand, I simply continued to stare at the ground as the referee and Asuga both screamed at me to get up. I could feel the chaos breaking loose all around me, but I was so battered and broken that I didn't even have it in me to do anything about it. As I tried to get back to my feet, the world seemed to spin even faster, and I began to feel a warm bile rise up my throat.

'Oh god. Koichi, do not puke here.' I ordered myself, but the concussion I had just received was not going to obey such a command. Instead it allowed, or maybe even *encouraged* me to barf up my breakfast from that morning. All over the mat, I may add. As I stood there, still on all fours, gasping and looking at the mess that I had just made; I came to the profound realization that at this point I had completely lost. There was no coming back from a concussion that made me too dizzy to stand and so, so sick to my stomach. Without the strength to do anything more, I let myself fall to my left side (away from the puddle) and hit the floor. 

Just doing that, there were about two sensations I felt within that moment: utter disappointment in myself, and utter pain due to every single injury I sustained. 

"Winner: Challenger Oyama Asuga!" The referee cheered, holding Asuga's arm in the air triumphantly as he completely ignored my panicked parents pushing past him and rushing to my side. I've been told that the moment they got a hold of me, Dad wrapped his arms around me and picked me up. Carrying me incredibly gingerly in his arms, he and Mom rushed me to the infirmary for medical attention. They left the whole competition aspect behind, not thinking about how they would be forced to admit the girl who ruthlessly attacked their son.

Not thinking about the girl who wouldn't stop even after her opponent was obviously down. The girl I'd hoped that I would never have to see again.

-

TRACK: DRtA OST: -1-11- Despair Eden

After Tamiko and I parted, my feelings of anxiousness and uncertainty seemed to increase once again. Which was really obnoxious, to say the least, but it's not like there was anything I could have done about it. We both met each other knowing that eventually we would have to go off with our own classes. It just seemed almost as if it was too soon when we finally did part. Honestly because of that... I felt as if the whole entrance ceremony was a total blur. I was too busy running through the different possibilities in my mind that I could barely focus on the speech that poor Dad had been reciting to himself while doing the laundry for weeks. I actually even managed to miss homeroom teacher introductions, and was forced to awkwardly ask the girl next to me what our homeroom teacher's name was. On the bright side, at least, I definitely wasn't one of the students who needed all of these speeches to understand what my school life would be like. Seeing as I practically grew up at Hope's Peak, I pretty much knew how everything worked. I figured that I could afford to not be one-hundred percent attentive this one time. Besides, it wasn't like I hadn't been to half a dozen of these entrance ceremonies before— back when I was a lot younger, Mom and Dad used to bring me to them all the time just to get a look at my future. 

I'm sure it could've been overwhelming for some of the kids who had never seen the place before in their lives, though. The alumni who restored the school had done a spectacular job of upholding its reputation as a beacon of hope, and likely even having created predecessor that far surpassed the original. Everything about the school was planned out to the last detail to assure that the school would be up to code and accessible to a spectrum of students. While this meant that the school was greatly improved, it also meant that there were many more precautions taken, thus ultimately making it more difficult to get in. While rebuilding the school, the alumni abolished the hated Steering Committee, and in turn amplified the difficulty of the school's application process. Talent Class students were put through a sequence that included an audition, several background checks, a personal interview, and then a final application to even be considered for their spot within the school. As for us Reserve Class kids, we were subjected to a similar sequence of an entrance exam, several background checks, an essay describing our life goals and ambitions, and then the final application. Saying it was a somewhat brutal system was putting it lightly, so at least I could find in my heart the empathy I needed for the kids who were literally trembling in their seats.

The future was coming up on each and every once of us quickly, and it really didn't hit any of us until the older students concluded the school's song and our teacher gathered us all up together and lead us to our homeroom. No more time to tremble in the auditorium seats and think of what could be. The future was happening now.

-

TRACK: Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy OST 1 - 15. The housekeeper saw!

Class 99-A consisted of twenty-five students including myself. The Reserve Class to Talent Class ratio was split almost perfectly down the middle (considering you can't have half a student), with twelve Talent Class kids and thirteen Reserve Class kids. Among our ranks were some notable titles such as Kotone Sawamatsu the Super High School Level Child Star, Arata Hara the Super High School Level Ringmaster, and Jirou Watabe the Super Highschool Level Rugby Player. Aside from that, there was a plethora of different talents situated in the Reserve Class as well. Some people had come to study snake charming, piloting, and even the importance of biodiversity. It seemed almost everyone in Class 99-A had something to offer. Everybody was unique and different, and had their own interests. As we played our icebreaker games, this was something they all seemed to remark upon. That is, everyone except for myself and a certain girl who sat at the back of our classroom. 

That girl aside, just from the ice breaking games that our class played in homeroom, I had the feeling that I would like a lot of my new classmates. Although some of them could be a bit rowdy, they all appeared to be genuinely friendly and open. If they saw somebody retreating because they were shy, there would usually be at least two other students who would pull them further in to activities and make them feel like they belonged. By the time we'd rolled through our first three periods, we were all pretty much best friends. I'd never felt that comfortable in a classroom in my life, so by the time lunch rolled around and we all decided to head back to our homeroom, I wasn't all that concerned about being vulnerable. I mean, I already had a great group of people that I could eat with and talk to. Lunch would have been like a perfect dream if I hadn't gone to my locker to get my lunch... only to find out that in the rush of the morning, I'd completely forgotten it. I could only hope that Mom, Dad, or Hope might have picked it up on their way out the door. I figured I would text Dad, just to be sure. 

'Hey— sorry to bother you while you're busy, but did you pick up my lunch before we left? I accidentally left it behind by accident. Optimistically thinking you might have grabbed it?' I typed, hitting send before bothering to read it through for typos. I figured that Dad would get back to me relatively quickly, considering that he too would be on his lunch break. Although now that I think about it, I could have been thinking far too optimistically about that in an attempt to get my stomach to shut up about how hungry I was. I was so nervous that I'd barely touched my breakfast that morning, and I was definitely paying the price for it. 

Willing my mind to forget my food for one minute, I placed my phone back down on my desk and sighed. As I didn't end up walking to my locker with anyone else, this also meant that I was one of the first people back. So for a solid few minutes I was sitting alone in the classroom without a soul to disturb me. That is, until back-of-the-classroom girl came stomping in, her feet thundering against the tile floor as she made her way back in. Though she seemed to be holding a lunch box, I got the weirdest feeling that her first intention once she entered the room wasn't to sit down and start eating. The glare she shot me when she walked in to the room was probably the clearest sign of that. 

"Why are you sitting in here all alone?" She huffed, raising an eyebrow at me as she folded her arms across the chest that she had puffed up a little too proudly. I couldn't help but remark that her knuckles were bandaged. "I thought for sure you'd be out there socializing and making friends with all of the others. Getting them all on your side, Mister Sociable. Isn't that what you do?"

"That's a pretty bold assumption for a girl who doesn't even know me," I shot back, sensing her hostility from my seat. "Mind your own business."

"Please, I can read you like a book." She hissed, continuing to pound her feet against the floor as she moved forward, placing herself right in front of my desk. I willed myself not to feel threatened by her presence as she leaned forward so that the two of us were nearly at eye level. It was a tactic she was trying to use to irk me. Even though I knew what she was capable of, I did not feel that I should show any weakness. "You're Mommy and Daddy's little prince who gets everything he's ever wanted and more. Everybody always has and always will love you... or at least they'll pretend to."

"Why are you even speaking to me? Did you come here to gloat, or something? I get it, Oyama-san, you won." I murmured, the emptiness in my chest sparking yet again as I spoke the words. It was awful to admit, especially to her face like that, but what could I do? We were both there. We both knew that between the two of us, I was the loser. 

"I guess you could say that," She taunted, shrugging her shoulders slightly as her icy blue eyes remained locked on to mine. "After all, this has to have been the first time that you haven't gotten what you wanted. I figured that you would be a little bit upset about it."

"I'm not upset," I insisted, knowing that that was a bull-faced lie. Of course I was upset, she beat the crap out of me and didn't stop until I was concussed. She bloodied my face, bruised my body, and then spit on me like I was trash. Her unsportsmanlike-like behaviour should have been enough of a sign of who she was, but because I was the headmaster's son nobody else saw it that way. "I'm over it, Oyama-san. I don't care anymore."

"That's some tough shit to believe, Naegi-kun. Judging by our little audition, you seem to have a hard time letting shit go. I got in one good hit and then you would deliver three back with this furious little look on your face." She remarked. "So personally, I think that you're still holding on to this little problem of yours. Maybe you're going to use it to your advantage."

"To my advantage?" I echoed, honest to god having no clue what she was inferring. If I was still holding on to some false hope, that was my issue— not hers. It made so little sense to me that I found myself waiting for her to say something at least somewhat logical. Instead, she slammed her fist down on the table in front of me.

"Let's not play dumb here." She snapped, baring her teeth at me like an angry dog. The way she was speaking was so careful and so controlled that you could tell she was doing everything in her power to keep herself from flying off the handle. "You're Mommy and Daddy's favourite little student, and if you went running to tell them shit about me they'd believe you without a doubt. It ain't no secret to me that your dumbass parents didn't want me here, either. The second they hear you say something about me, whether it is the truth or a lie, they'll boot my ass outta here. Strip me of my title, and give it to you."

"Oyama-san, what kind of devious—" I interrupted, but a swift movement she made to kick me in the shin shut me right up as I yelped out in surprise and pain.

"Don't act like you're so fucking innocent. The others may not see what a piece of shit you really are, but I do. I know exactly what you do, and I'm telling you now that if you fucking try anything to get me expelled, you should expect an ass beating. I won't hesitate to send you to the hospital, maybe break a few of your bones. Show everyone what happens to snot-nosed little bitches who think they're better than everybody." 

"Hey, what's your problem?!"

Those words didn't come from my mouth. Somebody else was... was defending me.

The voice interrupted her rant so suddenly that it took the both of us by surprise. After all, we had been under the impression that the two of us were the only two people in the classroom at that moment. Considering the others left with friends at their sides, we had assumed it would be awhile until they returned as they needed to hit multiple lockers and would likely chat along the way. As far as we were concerned, we were supposed to be the only people in the room. That was why Asuga had decided to have this little confrontation with me, wasn't it?

As the two of us whipped our heads around toward the doorway of the classroom, we found two of our classmates standing there. One of them was a tall blonde boy with heterochromatic eyes, and the other was a silver-haired girl with a mole on her chin. Judging by the sound of the voice that spoke, the silver-haired girl was likely the one who had jumped to my defence. The voice had been undeniably female, even despite the fact that she seemed to speak in a low and almost unamused tone. 

"Hey, I ain't going to ask you again," The girl growled, narrowing her eyes at Asuga. "What's your issue? Why are you in here threatening that kid?"

"Why aren't you minding your own business, Kitagawa-san?" Asuga retorted sharply, gritting her teeth out of what I could assume was probably habit. "I wasn't doing anything that this kid doesn't deserve."

"You just met him today. He hasn't done anything to you yet." The girl, whose first name I had since forgotten and will refer to as Kitagawa until I actually found out, pointed out. She'd have had no clue how well Asuga and I knew each other, but at the very least I was incredibly grateful that she had jumped to my defence. I definitely wasn't going to be able to deal with her on my own, especially after our audition together. "Just leave him alone."

"You don't know anything about what's going on here, so just keep your nose out of my business." Asuga demanded, her fist slamming down on my desk hard. Although I knew it was kind of sad of me to have done so, I jumped a little. (It startled me!) 

"I'll keep my nose out of your business when you stop threatening kids who didn't do anything." She announced firmly, starting to walk toward Asuga. "Don't think that just because my talent is fire dancing doesn't mean that I can't kick your ass. 'Cause I can and I will."

"You want a bet on that, Golden Eyes?" Asuga said, her tone not quite as loud but still clipped. I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she was maybe losing a bit of her edge due to Kitagawa's presence. Whoever she was, this girl must have been good if she had the power to intimidate someone like Asuga. Not once when we auditioned together did she ever appear to be fearful of me. She was always moving and thinking about her next hit, never concerned about what I was going to do. While she looked down on me, I assumed that she must have seen Kitagawa as someone who was closer to being an equal. Maybe even closer to being above her.

"N-Natsumi," The blond boy piped up, tugging on the sleeve of Kitagawa's uniform like a small child attempting to get the attention of his mother. "Remember what we were told, we can't afford to be getting in to fights while we're here."

"It ain't a fight if she attacks me first," Kitagawa— Er... Natsumi, responded briskly. Though the two (as far as I had seen) appeared to be friends, Natsumi was portraying herself as the type of person who was fairly stuck in her own ways. She likely wasn't going to be taking her friend's advice if it meant having to back down. "Besides, if I leave this bitch alone she'll just keep harassing him."

"Who are you calling bitch? You want to get your teeth knocked out?!" 

"Don't you dare!" I snapped involuntarily, pushing myself to my feet as if I could do something about the scenario that we were in. Again it was no secret that I wouldn't be able to defeat her this time if I hadn't managed it during the audition. Some people might have even said that it would have been better if I kept my big stupid mouth shut, but I wasn't going to let Natsumi get hurt because she was defending my sorry butt. I would rather have another concussion than allow anything like that to happen.

Upon hearing my outburst, Asuga whipped her head around to look at me again with a nasty glare. "Oh yeah, and I suppose you're going to be able to kick my ass if I do hit her? Grow up, Naegi-kun, we all know that you're nothin' more than a little pipsqueak who thinks talent comes from genetics. Just remember that beyond that fancy celebrity status, you come from a family of huge losers. You're never going to be anything more than Reserve Course dud, you rotten little—" 

"That's it!" Natsumi yelled, bringing her fist up so that it could connect with Asuga's face. Fortunately for all of us, her friend leaped in at the last possible minute and grabbed her wrist.

"Natsumi, no!" He whimpered, "You remember what your dad told you!"

"I don't give a damn!" She shouted, struggling to release her wrist from his grasp. By this point she was clenching her jaw so tightly that her face was beginning to turn pink. Sweat began to form on her forehead as she tried to allow the anger to be her strength and pry herself free from her friend's grasp. Even watching Natsumi's fury, there was one thing that was lingering in my mind as the blond boy and I worked desperately to keep Asuga and Natsumi from slaughtering each other on the spot.

Your dad.

Not Natsumi's dad, of course. At the time I didn't know the guy and ultimately had no idea if he even would've been useful to us within that moment. No, I was thinking about my dad, and what Asuga had been saying to me earlier about how I was only at Hope's Peak because of my parents. You know, how she thought I would tattle on her to them even for things she didn't do, just to get her expelled. 

Mulling this thought over in my mind, I looked down at my phone, which sat directly in the middle of my desk with its face down. Carefully, I reached for it and picked it up, praying to have received a reply from Dad (although admittedly that was mostly due to hunger). Gripping it as tightly as possible so as to make sure Asuga could not snatch it from my hands, I turned it over to see the notifications that had popped up on the screen. Just as I had hoped, my phone had lit up with a message from none other than my father.

'Yup, grabbed your lunch. Mom nearly forgot hers too. I asked Hope to deliver it to you, so it won't be embarrassing to have your dad walk in to the classroom and all. I hope you're having a good day and making lots of new friends! I'm going to make curry tonight in celebration of your new adventures. Love you!' 

I had to fight off a smile as I read the message over, endeared by how considerate Dad was of my feelings. Of course, right then was not the time or the place to establish that my father was adorable, so I had to do my best to fend off the smile as the altercation in front of me continued to progress. Still, Dad's message to me ended up being valuable, and not because it now meant that I was aware of what was on the menu for dinner tonight. 

"Oyama-san?" I said softly, a smirk appearing on my face as I looked up from my phone. I made sure to say her name extra sweetly and gently so that she would turn to me with pure rage in mind. It was safe to say that even though we didn't know each other that well, I knew exactly what would make her tick.

"What do you want now?" She snapped, her eyes drilling in to me as she focused on what I had to say. "Got something to say, or do you just want me to give you a fat lip?"

Now that her eyes were on me and there was a chance that the whole thing could go terribly wrong, it dawned on me how unsure of this I was. I mean, my stomach was now doing somersaults and I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I found myself biting my lip as she scrutinized me, trying to think of the best way of delivering my message. Confidence should have been the key in its delivery, but let's be honest here— I don't have any confidence. It's never really been up my alley.

"I just wanted to remind you of something you said earlier," I chuckled, forcing a mischievous smile so I appeared as if I would be able to wrap her right around my finger. "When you were talking about my parents and I, specifically."

Upon hearing this, even Natsumi seemed to pipe down as she and the blond boy observed me eagerly. It was clear from the looks on their faces that they wanted to see what I was going to do next, and I couldn't deny that the thought of showing them was kind of thrilling to me.

"What about it?" She grunted. Just by the very mention of my parents, she puffed up her chest and stood a little taller. It was a small sign, but it showed that this was the one thing that intimidated her about me: the power I had over her in the school's administration. Even if this power was a fictional figment of her own mind, it couldn't hurt to see if she'd back down due to the threat of potentially losing her spot at Hope's Peak. As rude and nasty as she was, Asuga was just like the rest of us. She'd wanted to come here since she was young and she probably worked pretty hard to qualify for it. She wouldn't want that to slip away, but it didn't give her the right to threaten people. So maybe that's why I decided to pretend to be the vile creature she thought I was.

"You mentioned some concerns you had about me tattling to my parents about some of the things you might do just for the sake of your expulsion," I reminded her, putting one of my hands on my hip almost confidently. Despite my facade of ease, I still had a death grip on my phone so she couldn't take it away from me. "If that's the kind of behaviour you expect from me, you've got some nerve to come over here threatening me and nearly fighting Kitagawa-san over here. I mean, couldn't I just go tattle on you to Mommy and Daddy? Send you packing, just as you said?" 

In that moment I swear that there was nothing more satisfying than bearing witness to the change in Asuga's expression. Just as suddenly as it had come, her anger melted away. Replacing it was an expression that featured brows that had been knit together, worried eyes, and teeth that were clenched with much less certainty. 

"You wouldn't do that." She sputtered gracelessly, glancing quickly over at Natsumi and her blond buddy as if to ask if I actually would. When her eyes fell on them, they shrugged in response. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the grin on Natsumi's face. She and I both knew we had her beat.

"Wouldn't I, though?" I taunted, waving my phone at her. "I thought that you said that this kind of thing was what I do."

Asuga's jaw clenched harder as she stared at me, her body beginning to tremble as it processed the sensations of anger that were coursing through it. "So what are you going to do? Tattle on me then?"

"Well, I will if you don't leave us alone. Otherwise, I won't speak a word." 

Her gaze darted from me to Natsumi to back to me again. Finally, she let out a screech of frustration and defeat as her foot collided with the classroom floor again. "F-Fine, whatever!" She cried loudly, likely drawing the attention of the students that were just piling in to eat their own lunches. "Just know that if you do say something—"

"I know, I know, you'll kick my arse." I said, holding my hand up as if to halt her from her useless threats. "I'll keep my mouth shut if you keep yours shut, alright?"

"D-Deal." She muttered. With that, she took this as a cue to turn around and stomp off in the other direction, much to the confusion of our classmates who had just come from their lockers. A few of them even glanced in our direction with raised eyebrows as if to ask what was up with her, but we ended up offering them nothing more than a few well-coordinated shrugs. As soon as they saw this, they accepted that Asuga might have been in a snit and left the three of us to go back to our business. Once she was gone, it gave the three of us a chance to talk to each other. 

"Dude, what you just did there was fuckin' brilliant!" Natsumi whooped, pumping her fist in the air triumphantly. "Seriously, it was real clever. You twisted her words around and used them to get things to go in your favour. That takes some skill."

Upon hearing Natsumi's compliment, I couldn't hide my blush. I wasn't accustomed to receiving compliments that weren't from family or my teachers, so hearing that was like its own recipe for making me get all flustered. "T-Thanks... You were really cool too, stepping in the way that you did. I don't know what I would've done if it hadn't been for you... So, y'know... thanks." 

"It's no problem, really. It's what any decent person should do." Natsumi assured me, moving to tuck a strand of her silver hair behind her ear. Now that she was closer to me and I wasn't preoccupied with not getting in to any trouble on my first day, I could really take a minute to get a good look at Natsumi. Now that she was up close, I could see the smaller details of her. Like me, she was pretty short. At tallest, I would say she was about four feet eleven inches. Her build was fairly rectangular, and very few parts of her body were all that curvy. Her skin was a soft peachy tone, which paired nicely with the striking silver colour of her hair. It was glossy and long, spilling down her shoulders and flowing down her back until it reached her waistline. Sprinkled across her cheeks and nose there were half a million different freckles, and there was a tiny mole that sat happily upon her chin. She seemed to be fond of accessorizing and doing make-up, for in her right ear she had about three piercings and had done her eyeliner so it would be a perfect wing. Like all girls at Hope's Peak Academy did, Natsumi donned the seifuku-style uniform with a merlot red ribbon to express herself. All in all she was a fairly good-looking girl, but not someone I ultimately felt like I would see around Tokyo.

"Well thanks for being a decent person then." I chuckled. "I don't believe we've formally met, though. I mean, we did class introductions but honestly... I'm not great with names."

"It's cool, no worries." Natsumi told me, folding her arms across her chest. "They call me Ku—Kitagawa Natsumi. I'm the Super High School Level Fire Dancer."

I recall feeling off-put by how Natsumi seemed to stutter over her own name, as if she was trying to hide something from me. Still, excited by the presence of potential new friends, I shrugged it off and told her that it was nice to meet her before turning to the other boy. "And if you don't mind my asking, what's your name?"

Upon acknowledgement, the blond boy's face lit up with surprise. He seemed to grin almost immediately as he realized what was happening. "Oh! My name's Tachibana Phoenix, and I'm the Super High School Level Parapsychologist! It's really nice to meet you." He giggled, his eyes sparkling with delight as he spoke. "I know this is kind of a weird question, but has anybody ever told you that you look like Makoto Naegi?"

I felt bad for how quickly and openly I laughed at that. "Considering he's my dad, yeah, kinda." I replied, scratching my cheek out of fear that my laughter might have offended Phoenix. Thankfully, instead of getting flustered and embarrassed, he continued to smile like it was his job. 

"Really?" Phoenix asked, "You're the son they talk about?"

"Y-Yeah," I admitted, shrugging a little bit. "My name's Naegi-Kirigiri Koichi, but for convenience's sake you can just call me Naegi-san. Naegi-Kirigiri-san is a mouthful." 

"Jesus Christ, Naegi-san, is your mother a printer or something? Now that Phoenix has pointed it out, I can't deny how alike you and your dad look." Natsumi gasped, raising an eyebrow as she studied my appearance. "I can't believe I didn't pick up on it before."

"My mother is in fact a real woman, she just ended up having a baby who looked exactly her husband..." I snickered somewhat awkwardly, my scratching moving to the back of my neck. "It happens. That aside, where are you guys from?"

"Oh, we're from an island!" Phoenix chirped happily, pushing the pair of glasses sitting on his nose up a little further. 

"Phoenix, this whole country is essentially an island." She reminded him, her eyes doing a full rotation before falling back on me. "More specifically, we're from Shikoku."

"Shikoku, huh?" I said, putting forth my best smile. "Well, welcome to Tokyo then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for tuning in for chapter four! I don't really have much to say this time around that's super urgent, just the same things as usual. I know I say this every time but I am so grateful for all of the support I have received thus far, and I hope to be able to continue to entertain you! I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter (it took so long, aaaah) and have a wonderful day!
> 
> In more "promotional" news:  
> \- Character Moodboards have been added to the Tumblr page!  
> \- Chapter 1 with the originally placed images has been added to the Tumblr page!  
> \- At some point I'm aiming to release a set of one-shots and little stories in regards to the DR21 universe. I'll include the link in the end notes of a chapter when it is up. From this you should expect a variety of chapters expressing shipping and family stuff, showcasing a lot of the past of the lives of these characters and establishing a lot about how they got to be the way that they are.


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